THE OTHER MONEY PROBLEM: No, it’s not a lack of funds. Each year, shippers pay more in user fees than is spent to upgrade the nation’s ports — leading to a surplus approaching $7 billion in a time roads and transit systems face long-term funding shortfalls in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Water transport is vitally important in light of President Obama’s call to double U.S. exports in five years and as the country approaches the 2014 widening of the Panama Canal.

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Members of Congress think there’s a simple solution: spend what’s brought in each year. The Realizing America’s Maritime Promise Act would do just that. It’s a hugely bipartisan bill, with over 100 Republicans and 80 Democrats in the House supporting it. A companion bill in the Senate has attracted pols from both parties. The Road Warriors bring you the story: http://politi.co/HRFSXE

$68 BILLION IS THE NEW $98 BILLION: The California High-Speed Rail Authority put out a revised business plan yesterday that will be submitted to the state legislature. Reacting to criticisms of the previous one, the new plan lowers the overall cost to $68 billion by scraping some new track construction in favor of upgrading existing commuter rail in urban areas. CHSRA also wants to use a share of revenue from the state’s cap-and-trade program. Check out the new plan: http://1.usa.gov/HHgbqQ An overview of changes from November 2011: http://1.usa.gov/HFlTYJ

Many have questioned the cost estimates — which started at $33 billion and rose several times to nearly $100 billion before the new prediction of $68 billion. Such estimates are notoriously unreliable, especially for a relatively new mode, according to Joshua Schank of Eno Center for Transportation. He told MT: “I don't think anyone can know whether these costs estimates are accurate. The history of most major infrastructure projects worldwide is that they almost always underestimate costs for a variety of reasons, and this is even more likely to be true when dealing with a relatively new type of project such as HSR.”

Lost in the numbers: But the $30 billion in savings might even be less important than the commuter rail upgrades, Schank said. “This investment very likely has substantial economic benefits for those urban regions with or without the eventual completion of the HSR project. As a general rule of thumb, commuter-rail investments that get more workers to more jobs have a much greater economic value per investment dollar than intercity passenger rail investments.”

Not without controversy: “Transparency, construction costs, ridership numbers and long-term funding have to be addressed to make this project viable,” California Rep. Jim Costa said at a presser in Fresno to unveil the plan. He also said all mega-projects face problems: “All major projects, infrastructure projects past and present, have had their share of controversy.” One example? The transcontinental railroad, which was built as the country was torn apart by a civil war. CHSRA takes up the new plan at an April 12 meeting.

ONE (THOUSAND) IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER: The latest surface transportation extension means we’re doomed to 1,000 days of extensions. But there’s still a ways to go to reach the 1,590 days of FAA extensions — it would take stopgaps into February 2014 to reach that magical number.

A TITILLATING TUESDAY! Thanks for reading POLITICO's Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and sailing into the sunset. If it moves, it's news. Burgess is out this week, so direct all your juicy scoops to asnider@politico.com. Twitter: @ AdamKSnider.

COMING SOON: POLITICO Pro Transportation launches two weeks from today on April 17. POLITICO Pro Transportation will deliver minute-to-minute news coverage on transportation and infrastructure — in breaking news and Whiteboard alerts and in stories from POLITICO's fast-growing team of transportation and infrastructure reporters. And only POLITICO Pro Transportation subscribers will continue to receive MT at 6 a.m. each day; others will get an abbreviated version at 9:30 a.m. To learn more about POLITICO Pro Transportation — and to ensure you don't miss a single 6 a.m. issue of MT — please contact Jessie Markley at (703) 341-4657 or jmarkley@politico.com.

TODAY — Primary offense: D.C., Maryland and Wisconsin voters hit the voting booths today to pick their GOP presidential candidate for the November election. Washingtonians also vote on some council members. Do your civic duty and proudly wear that “I voted” sticker. Head to http://politi.co/HiKW3W or tune in to C-SPAN at 7 p.m. for coverage and analysis by POLITICO Live.

N.Y. Auto Show: Ahead of the show this week, there’s an IHS/NADA forum today titled “Defining Success in the Automotive Industry: Staying Competitive in an Uncertain World” that features AAPC president (and former Missouri Gov.) Matt Blunt and Nissan-Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn. More info: http://bit.ly/HfZ8hH

Rated I for infrastructure: The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure teams up with the Harvard Graduate School of Design’s Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure to unveil the Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Rating System. A presser is scheduled for 9 a.m. at the National Press Club. More info will be available at http://www.asce.org/

TRANSIT’S CREDIT CRUNCH: Just like the federal government, transit systems have been borrowing money and are paying a greater share of their funds for debt service. That’s a major problem for a mode under constant threats from Congress to cut funds or even end its dedicated share of Highway Trust Fund dollars, ATU President Larry Hanley told MT.

“Transit systems around the country have been building out their systems and refurbishing their properties using credit over the past couple decades,” he told MT. “It was kind of a tricky thing local governments did to step away from actually funding transit on an ongoing basis they allowed transit borrowing to take place.”

Hanley said the bills are coming due … and the situation isn’t pretty: “That debt bomb is now strangling many of our transit systems’ operating [budgets]. Just like the federal deficit, the amount of money that is being paid by transit agencies for debt service is growing and it is forcing fares to go up and service to be cut.” Eighty-five percent of systems have had fare hikes or services cuts — both in many case. Check out a report on the problem: http://bit.ly/HEG1vz

Status quo as a step forward: The bar for transportation stakeholders sure has been lowered — under constant threat of cuts, states see flat funding as a win and as pay-fors become increasingly tough, a two-year bill is often referred to as “long-term.” It’s no better for transit systems, Hanley said: “We saw the Senate bill as a step forward. We don’t think it’s revolutionary, we think it’s in keeping, for the most part, where we’ve been on transit for the last 10 years.” That step forward is compared to the House bill, early versions of which ended transit’s share of gas tax dollars.

Why so serious? “We have serious problems with the way Congress is dealing with this bill. We don’t take them seriously except to the extent that they’re dangerous. Their ideas are not serious ideas — they don’t make transit better, they make it worse,” Hanley said.

MT POLL — Transportation bill: When will Congress pass a (non-extension) transportation bill? Before the 90 days are up, after that, or maybe even during the lame duck session? Or are we doomed for extensions all the way into the 113th Congress? Vote and see results: http://bit.ly/Hoor3v

TOP FIVE LIST: We all love both top five lists and transportation infrastructure. So why not combine the two? Governing magazine looks into 10 major infrastructure projects — five that are making progress and five that are stuck in a no-man’s land. The five that are chugging along: the Silver Line extension to Dulles Airport, a third U.S.-Mexico border crossing in the San Diego area, Chicago’s O’Hare modernization, freight rail expansion along the Crescent Corridor and the Alaskan Way viaduct.

The five that are in a holding pattern: The Columbia River crossing, Denver’s FasTracks transit system, FAA’s NextGen air traffic control system, California’s high-speed rail system and the New York MTA’s Second Ave. subway. Pick up the April print issue or click through to read the story: http://bit.ly/HHbtvX

THE COUNTDOWN: Highway and transit policy runs out in 88 days, DOT funding in 180 days and FAA policy in 1,276 days. There are 217 days before the 2012 election. It's been 916 days and nine extensions since SAFETEA-LU expired.

PERRY’S TRANSPORT TUNE: The former presidential candidate was overheard singing “I’ve been working on the railroad all the live-long day” before a GOP debate. POLITICO: http://politi.co/HfHTNX

CABOOSE — Self-driving car: A three-minute video of a Google’s self-driving car, fully utilized by Steve Mahan, who is 95 percent blind. Now that’s a great use of an amazing technology. Check it out: http://bit.ly/HDzC3R

** A message from the Coalition for Future Mobility: Driving Safety: Human error. It’s a factor in 94% of all crashes according to government data. So imagine how much safer our roads would be with Autonomous Vehicles. By reducing risky and dangerous driving behaviors, AVs will help save lives. Tell Congress to greenlight Autonomous Vehicle testing and deployment.http://bit.ly/gl-sd **

About The Author

Adam Snider is a transportation reporter for POLITICO Pro and author of Morning Transportation. He has covered transportation since 2007, joining POLITICO in 2011 to launch MT and later found the word “Mica-ism.”

Snider is a fan of all modes of transportation, though nothing beats a good silly walk. In his spare time, he can be found brewing a hoppy beer, rooting for the Nationals, watching a bad 1970s horror movie or exploring the District from his home base in Mount Pleasant.

Adam studied English and communications at Clemson University in South Carolina. His work has been featured by Nieman Journalism Lab and his snark has appeared on MSNBC. He has had several works of fiction published in literary journals and is constantly reminded of his proclamation to a fiction professor many years ago that journalism is for sellouts who abandon their creative dreams.